50 years ago: The East Kootenay Historical Society was set to visit some Windermere landmarks. Scheduled visits included St. Pauls Shuswap Church, which housed the historic Cross of the Nativity of Father Pieter De Smet (1845), the ruins of an older Shuswap church and if there was time, planned to visit an “Indian” cemetery.
45 years ago: A new hormone scheme gave doctors a chance to aid those afflicted with pituitary dwarfism, or growth hormone deficiency. One of six pituitary dwarfs in British Columbia lived in Invermere, a five year old boy. The boy had been born a normal size, but was lacking essential growth hormones in order to continue to grow at a normal rate. Children required an average of three to four growth hormone injections a week, an amount that had previously been unavailable, but the Canadian Medical Research Council had begun on a study on the condition, opening up hormone resources.
35 years ago: The Bud’s Annual Challenge Cup Raft Race was held amid great hilarity and enthusiasm from the many competitors, some who came from as far as Calgary just for the event. The atmosphere was tense with expectations as a huge variety of homemade crafts took to the water, often with varying amounts of success as pirate ships plied the waters to ensure no one gained to great of an advantage.
25 years ago: Windermere Watersports Inc. won their court case against the District of Invermere and had been issued a business license for theit jet ski operation. The district had originally refused to issue a license for the jet ski portion of their business on the basis that jet skis were unsafe, a hazard to swimmers and also constituted a noise hazard on the lake. The case was heard in the B.C. Supreme Court, and the vice president of Windermere Watersports called the ruling a benefit to the entire area.
20 years ago: 31 marijuana plants were seized from an Edgewater residence, as RCMP responded to a confidential tip. The plants, averaging four feet in height, were scattered across the property, and RCMP estimated that they had a street value of approximately $3,000. According to the arresting officer, it was his third cultivation charge in the last four months, and he said that lots” of marijuana was being grown in the detachment area.
15 years ago: An initiative by an Invermere youth to establish a skateboard park in the district rolled into municipal ears. Grade 12 David Thompson Secondary School student Heather Walker appealed council for their support for the project, which could come in the form of a donation of public land. Offered reasons to build a skatepark were many, including giving out of town visitors to take their children which would in turn encourage further tourism to the area. The appeal was made during a council meeting at Pynelogs Cultural Centre, and was attended by more than a dozen “skateboard clutching” youth. Initial reactions from council members showed strong support for the idea.
5 years ago: A public meeting was held in the Village of Radium Hot Springs to discuss plans for the village to borrow $2.1 million to expand the sewage system in anticipation of tourism growth. Some residents were opposed to the idea of further growth, as they felt that the current infrastructure couldn’t handle any further load, but Radium mayor Greg Deck outlined his plan of dense development within the community as a way of minimizing costs of infrastructure for new roads and services.